Building a Garden Railroad on a Budget

The first thing most people notice when they are exposed to garden railroading is how great Large Scale trains look out-of-doors. The second thing they notice is how much they cost.

No question, you can spend a lot of money on garden railroading. When you visit the stores or other people's railroads, you may begin to think that thousand-dollar locomotives and $6.00-a-foot track are the norm. If, like most families, you have to budget every other area of your lives, you may start to fear that your "empire" will never get beyond the starter set that got you interested in the hobby in the first place.

Never fear, many hundreds of garden railroading families have built enjoyable, charming, and even notable garden railroads without going bankrupt. The following information will help you build your garden railroad on a budget, too.

Update for 2008 - Note about Track - For thirty years, the standard track for garden railroading has been code 332 hiqh-quality brass track (the rail height is .332 inches, if that helps). Since the cost of copper has doubled in the last few years, the cost of brass track has doubled as well. Code 332 track hasn't been the only choice, though. Some folks use smaller track (such as code 250 - 1/4" high - which looks a little more realistic and costs a little less, but is less sturdy. Some folks use aluminum track, mostly code 250 or smaller, which is even less expensive, and costs even less. Code 250 track, whatever it's made out of, tends to be "flex-track," that is to say it doesn't come in pre-formed curves like the track in your starter set. Although it is less sturdy than code 332 track, most people who choose code 250 or smaller rails design for this with rugged "roadbed" made out of concrete or 2x6"s, so it's
not usually a problem. Many very nice railroads have been built using this solution.

Code 332 Aluminum Track - A few years ago, when brass was cheap, AristoCraft introduced aluminum track that was otherwise the same as their brass track. It never caught on, and they discontinued it. Now that brass prices have gone up so quickly, AristoCraft is reintroducing a few different aluminum track pieces. Because Code 332 rails are pretty good size, it's still fairly sturdy, and it's about half the price that brass is now. In my experience, larger locomotives with lots of pickup wheel run about as well on aluminum as they do on brass. Aluminum does seem to get "greasy," and to collect plastic gunk from plastic wheels faster than brass, but aluminum oxide (unlike brass oxide) conducts electricity, so you shouldn't notice a huge difference in performance as long as you:

Run fairly large locomotives

Wipe the track every day or so with a clean dry cloth - in extreme cases, use a cleaning solvent like LGB smoke fluid

Use only cars with metal wheels (a good practice anyway)

Use a power supply that's appropriate for the size of your railroad (a good practice anyway)

Run jumper cables to distant points of your railroad (a good practice anyway)

Folks running small locomotives (like the 0-4-0 that comes with AristoCraft starter sets) have complained that they don't run quite as smoothly. Others in damp climates complain that aluminum track attracts more moisture than brass, and their trains start slipping in the late afternoon. But for many others, especially folks in dry climates, the only difference is that you'll need to wipe your track more often. Our article Is Aluminum Track an Viable Option provides much more information on this topic.

What is your minimal expectation for a garden railroad? To me, it's not a railroad unless I have at least one train (with a caboose), two stations, and enough track to get the train out of one station before it pulls into the next. Many people have far greater expectations, and some have less, but the point is, think about what kind of railroad you want to have, and what it will take you to get there. Then determine not to stray too far off the path just because some once-in-a-lifetime offer comes by.

What kind of operations do you want to have? (Continuous loop running, multiple trains, etc.)

How soon do you want to see something operating?

How much money do you have available to put into the project per year for, say, the next three years?

How much time per week, especially during the summer months?

Yes, all of these areas are subject to change. If you sit down right now and decide all of the things in the above list, you'll probably change two or three before you've made your next purchase. But at least, you'll have some idea where you're going from the start, and you'll be less likely to dilute your energy and resources on projects and purchases that don't contribute to your long-term goals.

Later in this article, we have sample budgets for several phases of garden railroad construction, that you can adapt to your needs. But I'll announce early that it's possible to have a functioning, established garden railroad in about three summers for about the same amount of money (per month) that many people would put into, say, cable television, in the same amount of time. Of course you can spend much more if you want, just don't spend it all before you take expenses like landscaping materials into account. Otherwise you may be like the man in the story who started to build a tower and ran out of money before he could finish. Your neighbors are going to think you're crazy at first, anyway; don't prove them right.

Once you have some idea of what kind of railroad you want to model, you'll probably want to choose one manufacturer that can supply most of your rolling stock needs for a price you can afford, and stick with them for the most part. It happens that some kinds of railroads have better manufacturer support than others, but there are a wide range of alternatives, and more cropping up all the time.

The Family Garden Trains article, "Which Scale Should I Model?" contains more information than you ever wanted to know about which manufacturers support which scales (and why). But the short version is that you can get into Narrow Gauge modeling (like the old Rio Grande) relatively cheaply with Bachmann 1:22.5 starter sets. Or you can get into Standard Gauge modeling (like PRR and CSX) for a little more with an AristoCraft or USA 1:29 starter set. Some folks who prefer 1:20.3 or some other scale may "bite the bullet" and start off with stuff that's a little more expensive. But there's no reason you can't start with a $100 1:22.5 set, then buy something else later on, when you've run its wheels off.

The best investment is to start off with good, well-laid track in as wide a radius as you can fit in the space you have. I prefer Aristocraft, because of the tie spacing, the screw-on rail joiners, and the screws underneath the rails that make running jumpers a piece of cake. If you know you'll only use remote-control/battery solutions, you may save money using aluminum track (although some folks are running track power on Llagas Creek aluminum track just fine).

Some manufacturers have different track styles for narrow gauge and for standard gauge. The rails on all these track styles are 45mm apart; only the tie spacing is different. Obviously, if you're tending toward one or the other kind of railroad, let that affect your choice of tie spacings. But if you lay a bunch of track with "narrow gauge" tie spacings, then decide to run standard gauge after all, or vice versa, only one person in 500 would even notice. Just don't mix and match tie spacings every other piece or something.

One of the biggest financial and logistic mistakes beginners make is to buy more trains, right off the bat, than is reasonable to schlep in and out between sessions.

Believe it or not, your investment in trains should actually be the small part of the equation the first few years. I'd rather start with a $200 train and $500 worth of track than try to get by the other way around. A decent segment of good quality, properly laid, wide-radius track will last you the life of your garden railroad. You can always buy other trains and buildings later, but it's a lot harder to replace or live with poorly chosen or poorly laid track.

Even harder for some people to get their heads around is that any landscaping you do may cost more than your trains and track put together. This is especially true at first, when you're installing ponds, retaining walls and the like. Even if you do the work yourself, rocks and dirt aren't as cheap as they sound.

Many years ago, the HMO we belonged to got into trouble and started delaying payments to smaller suppliers. My neighborhood pharmacist refused to accept my insurance card, then became angry at me because I went to a drugstore chain to get my children's prescriptions filled. I understand that he was in a bind, but so was I. Years later, a home-town hobby shop owner got mad at me because I bought a Bachmann set at Toys R Us for $99 that he was selling for $349. He had actually paid more "wholesale" for that set than I paid for it retail. But I did not personally "owe" him $250, just because he was also caught in a bind.

The truth is that pricing is a strange and volatile issue in the Large Scale marketplace, aggravated by unrealistically high "list prices" for many items and a confusing mess of distribution channels. Certain hobby shops assure you that they will go out of business if they don't clear $35 on the next boxcar you buy, while certain mail-order dealers offer great prices on equipment they know nothing about and won't service, even if it arrives at your home with broken or missing pieces. Other stores try to offer good service and good value but keep getting caught in the "bind" I described above, and give up. Worse yet, items on the "used" market, especially the online auctions, often sport the highest prices of all.

"Buyer Beware" risks stalk all aspects of the Large Scale marketplace; if you don't have very deep pockets, you owe it to yourself, your family, and your railroad, to shop carefully. For details on how to guard against predatory situations, while still supporting suppliers that are providing worthwhile service, refer to the Family Garden Trains article, "Where to Buy Large Scale and Garden Railroading Equipment"

In the meantime, remember that most would-be garden railroaders overpay and overpurchase when they:

Buy frequently on impulse

Fail to check prices at more than one place or to buy from appropriate suppliers

Buy more than they need

Buy stuff they can't really use for another year or so anyway

Buy stuff they can't use, period, because it's a mismatch with what they already have, or with what they plan to have

In addition to shopping carefully for train stuff, be certain to shop carefully for the other things you will need, such as landscaping materials and pond supplies. For example the same "pond liner" rubber sheeting you can buy from pond suppliers for $1 a square foot is available in some parts of the country from farm suppliers (as silo covers) and from roofing supply places (as roofing material) for a fraction of that price. *

In the very early days of garden railroading, many US hobbyists ransacked toy stores, dollhouse suppliers, and even flea markets, trying to find accessories for their trains. This was especially true when it was hard to find US-style models of houses, people, and other accessories. Why spend $130 on a station that looked like it belonged on the Rhine, when you could rework a $30 bird feeder into something usable and "American-looking"?

Nowadays, the manufacturers supply many US-style buildings and accessories. In addition, the dollar's position against the mark has improved, so that prices on German-manufactured products have stabilized, and even lowered in some cases. Nevertheless, garden railroaders in the "colonies" tend to be a rugged bunch, and many have turned "scrounging" into something like a sporting event.

Model railroaders have long used the term "kitbashing" to refer to taking a model of one thing into a workshop and coming out with a model of something else. I've personally invented the term "trashbashing" to refer to rebuilding something that didn't even start out as a model into something that works fine on a garden railroad. For example, I have a city block of old "garage-sale" Fisher-Price "Sesame Street" storefronts. With decent paint jobs and details, they serve very nicely, at a tiny fraction of what the "store-bought" equivalents would have cost. And unlike most trash-bashed models, they look fine next to several "store-bought" models.

You would think that this sort of thing would mostly appeal to people who have more time than money, but some of the best scroungers are people who could afford anything, but just want a challenge. Nothing is off limits: plants, would-be accessories and buildings, even landscaping materials. A soccer team that started out as birthday cake decorations, a passenger that resembles Moe of the three stooges, a phone booth that started out as a refrigerator magnet, and so on. You get extra "points" for finding stuff you can use at deep discounts (like after-after Christmas sales), or at unlikely places (like garage sales and flea markets). More than one garden railway club meeting "show and tell" session has started with the sentence, "Look what I dug out of the trash at . . . . "

"Caveats" of scrounging include:

Even if an item you scrounge can be turned into a servicable model, it may fall "between" scales. So the plastic Artline bird feeder that looks like a Western storefront may look fine next to a 1:24 train, or even a 1:29 train, but it won't look right next to your 1:22.5 Piko clapboard storefronts. So you make it an "outpost" and scootch it down the line or further back from the viewer's position.

Items like toys and dollhouse accessories that were originally intended for indoor use need to be painted with a UV-resistant paint and otherwise prepared for outdoor use. This even includes plastic bird feeders, which really aren't designed for more than a couple seasons' use.

Once family and friends get the "idea," people whose eyes aren't so attuned to issues of scale and realism as yours will start scrounging "for you," and bring home bags of silly or way-out-of-scale stuff they expect you to use.

Finally, you may get so used to getting things for almost nothing that you'll start refusing to buy anything that isn't a ridiculously good deal, even stuff you need. Oh, well, there are down sides to every recreational activity.

Some sources that other garden railroaders have scrounged effectively include:

Craft stuff, bird houses, etc. - Most of the "cutesey" wooden third-world bird feeders have oversize details or other things that make them "more trouble than they're worth" for serious garden railway use, but a few are useful. If nothing else, they serve as "placeholders" until you've scratchbuilt or kitbuilt more realistic structures. And you can loan them out for train shows, etc., without worrying that you'll be out a fortune if they don't come back.

Christmas Village accessories - Most of these are closer to O or S scale than Large Scale, but a few are useful, especially if you're modeling in 1:29 or 1:32 and you're tired of the so-called "G-scale" accessories towering over your trains. Of course you're not really a successful "scrounger" unless you wait until they go 75% off list price before you pick them up.

Accessories borrowed from other scales - Because a number of nominally "O-Scale" accessories were really designed when the old Standard Gauge three-rail trains were the norm, a few of them are actually scaled fine for 1:29. In some cases, even the newer O-scale accessories are closer to 1:29 than the so-called G-scale equivalent, which may designed to "toylike" proportions. And they're almost always much cheaper.

As an example, as of this writing, Model Power sells a three-streetlamp set (#6083) for O-scale. They make a similar, but bigger, lamp for G scale; it comes one to a package. Both packages cost about the same. The O-scale set is tall enough for many 1:29 uses. The G-scale lamp is too tall for many 1:29 uses. The G-scale lamp costs three times as much. Well, duh. . . .

Plants and Landscaping Materials - Friends have captured sedum starts from vacant lots. I've collected most of my own plants from end-of-season plant closeouts at places like Wal-Mart or Meijers, including a few that were on the way to the trash bin and are now spreading nicely on my railroad. (Since I kill about every other plant I try anyway, why bother paying list price for "healthy" plants?)
I even scrounged some nice 1:1 railroad ties when a nearby city ploughed up the old trolley ties during a sewer project. (I asked permission before I brought the truck around.) Be very careful before you attempt to scroung rocks--more than one would-be rock gardener has been arrested for taking materials from public lands or inadvertently stealing a farmer's anti-erosion project.

Other scroungeables - Keep your eyes open. Plastic bird feeders with good details, 1:32 farm sets, die-cast trucks with hardware store brand names, a 1:30 model of Grover Cleveland left out of a presidential chess set, the list goes on and on.

If you have a garden railroading club in your vicinity, you'll eventually make friends who will have more established gardens and different interests. Several of my garden railroading friends are also long-distance, from correspondence and internet forums. Part of the enjoyment of the hobby has been sharing and swapping with them.

Plant lovers may trade starts. For example, "stubby fingers" and "blue spruce" sedum have grown so well on my railroad that it's silly not to give starts to anyone in the area that doesn't have any yet. (On the other hand, several of my low-profile thymes are always on life support, so I'm more cautious about doing anything to put them into shock.)

Modelers may trade models or bits of models. For example, I bought a bunch of small-diameter steel wheelsets, then found out they would hang on my (not-so-exquisite) switchwork. An internet acquaintance was planning to replace the standard-diameter steel wheelsets on his cars with the small-diameter sets. No problem--even trade. Somewhere, in another trade, I came up with a blue B&O Pacific I couldn't use on my PRR-oriented railroad. But another acquaintance needed a Pacific and didn't need an Atlantic he had gethering dust. Now we're both happy.

Gifts like plant starts aren't always reciprocated but they're usually appreciated, and what goes around often comes around from other sources. As far as trading items of value is concerned, be certain you either know the person well, have recourse in case of a misunderstanding, or both. I've found the vast majority of garden railroaders to be friendly, honest, helpful people, but don't be naive.

A high school math teacher once gave us a quiz with twenty questions. The first line said, "Be certain to read the whole test before working any of the problems." "Question" number 20 said, "Now put your name on the top of the page, ignore the rest of the questions, and turn it in." And of course, about two-thirds of the class ignored the first line and started working the "easy" problems the first time through. About one third worked through every question, complaining loudly about how difficult and unfair the test was. When they realized they had been "taken in," they didn't think it was funny at all. I won't tell you which group I was in.

The point of the test was just to show that jumping into a difficult task without sufficient information can be risky. I cite that example here, because many would-be garden railroaders do the same thing. After seeing one or two layouts and reading one or two catalogs, they get out the charge card and the shovel. Fortunately, most folks recover from any early errors, but you do occasionally see folks liquidating a whole railroad because they have overextended themselves financially or bought too much of the wrong stuff on impulse. Planning would have saved these people a great deal of time, energy, money, and possibly some arguments.

I also believe in Frederick P. Brooks' law of engineering: "Build One to Throw Away; You Will Anyhow." In this case, it means that getting a test track on the ground early will help you plan your permanent railroad better, and maybe help you learn from some mistakes before they're literally cast in concrete.

The following is a very basic sample two-to-three-year plan by which you could establish a functional beginning garden railway on a very reasonable budget. However, this is only a starting point that you must change to meet your needs and expectations before you will receive the full benefits of it.

Phase 1: Outdoor Test Loop (First Summer?)

Just to get your "feet wet," consider installing a small test loop outside. This is a temporary 1-2-year installation to give you the general feel for what it is like to have a garden railroad (and to give you something to show visitors when they ask you what the hole in the ground at the other end of the back yard is going to be). If possible, put it somewhere besides the place you plan to start the "permanent" layout, so you can still run on this loop while the "permanent" layout is under construction. Pouring a trail of gravel (over plastic sheeting) where you want the track to go will help you keep the track level and fairly reliable for a season or two. If you get winter weather, you can protect any evergreens you buy at this stage by planting them in the ground, pot and all, and mulching around them.

At the same time, make it a point to visit as many open houses as you can. You'll get ideas for track plans, see what kind of railroads interest you, and so on. You may also meet folks who can give you starts of ground covers and answer "clueless newbie" questions for you.

Phase 2: Indoor Test Loop (First Autumn?)

Consider installing a small test loop inside so you can still test and run trains inside during bad weather or when the outdoor layout is under construction. This also gives you a place to "try out" accessories to see if you like the way they look with your trains before you install them outside. If you have some place you can leave it up year round, even if it's only a 4'-diameter loop, so much the better.

This is a good time to make out your holiday "wish list." Try highlighting line-items in ads in Garden Railways and leaving the magazines laying open to the right page. This also helps your loved ones avoid paying list price for something you can't use.

Purchase

Price if you shop carefully

Track

$0 if you use the track from your starter set, $40-$100 otherwise for aluminum, $80-160 for brass

Lumber

$30-$100 depending on how and where you need to set it up.

Indoor/Outdoor carpet, paint, or other finishing materials

$20-$50 depending on your choices

Total Range of Initial Investment

$50-250

Phase 3: Planning the "Big One" (First Winter?)

By now you've got an idea of what you like and don't like about running trains outside. Hopefully you've seen things that work and don't work on other people's railroads. Now is the time to refine your expectations for the first segment of your big, permanent railroad.

Over the decades, Model Railroading magazine and many other sources have published plans for railroads that start small and grow. Consider a plan that allows you to get at least one segment operational by the end of the first season of serious construction. You can always expand from there. (For example, I wanted to have a "dogbone" layout, but I started with a loop that I planned to extend into a dogbone eventually. It so happens that I have since added another loop elsewhere on the garden and still haven't completed the dogbone, but it got me started.)

If you want a pond, waterfall, and or any other water feature, you're usually better off starting with that first, then building the railroad around it. So your first "groundbreaking" may be a hole in the ground for a pond. Expenses at this stage will include pond equipment, rocks, dirt, mulch, and other landscaping materials, such as real railroad ties. How much you spend depends directly on how much landscaping you want to do.

Remember that any serious landscaping, if tastefully done, will increase the value of your home regardless of whether you take the track away when you move. So it might help to think of the cost of landscaping as "home improvement" rather than "subsidizing Daddy's hobby." Save your receipts for tax purposes in case you move later.

You will also need more track; get the biggest radius you can reasonably fit into the location you want your first permanent railroad to go. A bigger power supply is also a good idea. (Some folks would insist that you should spend the money on a battery/radio control system instead, but that's your call).

When things get too intense, you can work on any kits you got for the holidays, or try building your own structures to use out of doors next summer.

Right now, you're mostly planning; the real expenses occur in the next phase. Possible expenses of Phase 3 include:

Purchase

Price if you shop carefully

Track Planning Books and/or Software

$20-$100

Building and other kits

$130-400

Total Range of Phase 3 Investment

$150-500*

Phase 4: Building the First Segment (Second Spring and Summer?)

Your expenses in the first big building phase are directly related to the kind and scale of landscaping you do. For this article, I've made the assumption that your first segment will be a raised loop around the pond. Your mileage will vary.

Possible purchases at this phase include:

Purchase

Price if you shop carefully

Pond liner, equipment and supplies

$200-$600

Dirt

$150-500

RR ties and other landscaping materials

$100-500

Store-bought rocks

$100-500

Gravel for roadbed

$100-200

Track

$150-500 for aluminum $300-1000 for brass

Upgraded Power Supply

$100-150

Total Range of Phase 4 Investment

$900-2950*

*Or you could do what Martha Stewart does and hire gardeners to do all the hard work, but expect your bill to go up by about 400%.

Phase 5: Consolidating and "Burning In" (Next 12-24 Months?)

Once you have the first segment of your future permanent empire operational, you deserve a break. Besides, it will take a season to get the track "settled in," the pond established, landscaping plants properly started, and any bugs worked out. Don't let that keep you from visiting open houses, holding open houses of your own, and continuing to learn. Reciprocal open houses and visits also give you the chance to swap plant starts, accessories you don't need, etc., with other garden railroaders. This is an inexpensive and enjoyable way to try new things and help other people in the hobby.

If you follow this plan to the letter, by the third summer, you will have spent somewhere between $1205 and $4290 to get a nice, functional, established, and hopefully attractive start on your garden railway. If you do the math, you'll notice that the cost of trains, track, accessories, and landscape planners account for only half to a quarter of the overall expense. The costs of lumber, landscaping materials, dirt, etc., have tripped up more than one would-be garden railroader who spent his entire budget in the hobby shop, and never got anything running in the garden. But when you're starting out, the trains are only one component, and the smallest one at that.

By now your starter set will be almost worn out, or at least very lonely, and you should have some idea of the overall effect you want to achieve with your railroad. You also have some idea of how much work and time it will take you to achieve it. In addition, several new products may be on the market that weren't available when you laid your first test loop. The starter set was just that; once you've refined your long-range plans, your future purchases should be more focused. If you decide to change scales, gauges, periods, or geographic locations, now's the time to do it, while your investment in rolling stock and accessories is still minimal.

You may also redesign the rest of your layout or decide that the "first" segment is all you need for now. This is your hobby, and there's nothing wrong with holding off on any further improvements indefinitely.

In the meantime, be sure to take lots of time enjoying and showing off your railroad. And when some visitor asks you how could afford "all this" just smile nicely.

The New Boston and Donnels Creek pages tell the story of my own garden railroad construction in excruciating detail. But it's fair to tell you how much of the above article is based on my successes and how much is based on my mistakes.

Things I Did Wrong

Bought too much of the wrong stuff too soon--My only excuse is that when I first became intested in garden railroading, in the early eighties, there were only a handful of American-style products available, and there was more misinformation than information about scales, compatibility, etc. Bachmann 4-6-0s ruled the lower end of the spectrum, the local dealer refused to carry AristoCraft, and Lionel kept coming in and out of the business. Well, I wanted some trains, and at the rate the manufacturers seemed to be coming and going I figured I'd better buy it when I saw it. I wound up with a pretty mismatched bag of stuff, most of which has never actually been in the garden, and many pieces of which are out of scale with each other. (Most of those early purchases have long since been swapped out for stuff that I should have waited until I could afford in the first place.) To make it worse, I had so much money tied up in trains, I really had to scrounge to be able to afford my first outdoor segment.

Did not install an indoor test loop--When a locomotive was giving me problems, I had to wait until nice weather to work on it. In addition, my older children lost interest early on because railroading was only a four-month-a-year hobby.

Installed too small a pond--This doesn't relate exactly to trains, but if I had it to do over, I'd install a larger pond, using cheaply available flexible rubber (from a roofing or farm supply) for a liner. It wouldn't have cost any more or been much more work, and it would have been much more interesting to watch than my 100-gallon wonder. Besides, what they don't tell you is that a small pond is almost as much trouble to establish and maintain as a big pond, anyway. (For comments on the advisability of using alternate rubber materials for a pond liner, see, the "Notes about Pond Liners" section above.

Things I Did Right

Installed an outdoor test loop--I left a Bachmann battery-powered set on a brass-track oval in the side yard for over a year. That gave the kids something to run in the summer at least, and answered a lot of questions when the back yard was in shambles.

Planned the permanent segment effectively - I decided early on that my first working segment would be a loop around a pond. So I waited until pond stuff went on sale at the end of the year to buy a liner. And by keeping my eyes open, I was able to scrounge materials I would need, like the old trolley ties. Fortunately, most of the rocks I needed came from my own property, so my actual cost of materials on the construction part of the railroad was limited mostly to the cost of dirt and mulch. But the average would-be garden railroader doesn't luck into such circumstances.

Summary

Because I spent too much on mismatched trains and lucked into getting so much landscaping stuff for free or almost free, my "budget" wouldn't resemble the proposed budget above in particulars, but overall, I probably spent about $1200 to get the garden railroad and the equipment that I actually use, so I think that it's a practical starting point.

Hope this helps, best of luck with all your efforts,

Paul

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